


keep it short and simple

by SlowQuotesQuill



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Boys Kissing, Drama, Fluff, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, KageHina Week, M/M, Slice of Life, Tanabata, Third Year Hinata Shouyou and Kageyama Tobio, Third Year Tsukishima Kei, Third Year Yachi Hitoka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:22:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24790783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlowQuotesQuill/pseuds/SlowQuotesQuill
Summary: "What have you wished for, Kageyama?"In the silvery semi-darkness of the clubroom, Kageyama took his gaze away from the star-lovers in the sky, and stared straight at Hinata, who was still lost in the magic of the night.Like this, Kageyama secretly thought, Hinata looked nothing short of angelic.—Or, Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou, and two wishes that were written on a heart-wrenchingly clear tanabata evening.For Day 4 of KageHina Week 2020—"Slice of Life."
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 5
Kudos: 41
Collections: Kagehina Week 2020





	keep it short and simple

Hinata didn't get to celebrate the Star Festival with the rest of the Karasuno Volleyball Club for the past two years, because during both years, July 7th had fallen on a weekend. 

He finally got his chance come the July of their last year of high school, though it took Yachi and Yamaguchi both expressing their interest on the matter for everyone else to actually consider staging a mini-celebration on the evening of the seventh, which was a Monday. Tsukishima had pointedly asked how they can celebrate the festival within the small confines of their clubroom, but Hinata had raised a finger and made an annoying "tsk, tsk" sound that made a vein in Tsukishima's temple pop. 

"Man, Tsukishima, stop making a mountain out of a molehill. We can just keep it short and simple—" 

"—Which perfectly describes you, by the way—" 

"OKAY, LET'S PRETEND WE DIDN'T JUST HEAR THAT." Hinata spun around to the underclassmen with a huge smile. "Let's write some tanzaku to celebrate. I'll bring the bamboo, so someone should bring some string and maybe colored paper—" 

"I'll bring the paper!" Yachi quickly volunteered. 

"I'll get the string," one of the freshman said. Hinata, all smiles, gleefully reached up and patted the head of the first-year (despite said first-year being at least a head taller than he was) as if he was a dog. 

"Thanks! You guys are the best." 

"You're like a kid, Hinata-senpai," chuckled someone. "Who gets excited over tanabata at your age?" 

"Oh, shut it, Matsukawa!" 

Kageyama, who was just minding his own business with the locker as usual, spun around and barked, "Oi, Hinata. Let's get going already, I'm fucking starving." 

"O-Oh. Right!" Successfully distracted, Hinata slung his bag over his shoulder. "I'm outta here. See ya tomorrow, everyone!" 

A mishmash of voices returned his goodbye, and Kageyama stalked out of the clubroom without another word, Hinata at his heels. 

"They're so close, aren't they?" Yachi said admiringly. "You wouldn't think that they used to fight all the time in the past…" 

"Not that they're fighting any less nowadays, really," Yamaguchi commented wryly. "They just make a point of not doing their squabbling in front of the kids." 

"Oh…" 

"They're indeed annoyingly close. I wonder if they're actually dating?" Tsukishima stage-whispered to Yachi, who blushed a bright pink. 

"S-Stop it, Tsukishima-kun, the juniors are still here…" 

"Not like they haven't noticed yet, really," Yamaguchi put in with a chuckle. "Since the end of the spring tournament during our first year, don't you think Hinata and Kageyama had become as thick as thieves?" 

"I wonder if that constitutes as dating, though," Yachi said dubiously, her forehead in a little frown. "I mean, it'd be unfair if we continue assuming things…" 

"We could go ask Kageyama, actually," Tsukishima said absently. "That guy's stupidly honest. Hinata's a little more perceptive, so he'd be a pain in the ass to ask." 

"L-L-Let's not!" Yachi squeaked. "Really! Let's l-l-leave them alone—" 

"For now," Yamaguchi said, with a grin that could rival Sugawara's evil smile of old, and Yachi felt like she had just triggered something ominous in motion. 

The weekend came and went, and the rest of the club was shocked to see Karasuno's ace march in with an actual bamboo tree in his arms, as promised. He placed it by the window so that its leaves swayed in the summer breeze outside, and put his hands on his hips as he proudly declared— 

"Okay, everyone should take a tanzaku from Yachi-san and write a wish on it, then we'll all hang them on the bamboo later after practice. Sounds good?" 

"Osu," everyone else chorused, and Hinata squinted at Tsukishima and Kageyama. 

"You two, too," he sniped. Tsukishima rolled his eyes, while Kageyama's usual scowl deepened and he mumbled something that could either be a yes or a no. Grinning, Hinata grabbed Kageyama's arm and marched him out of the room, but not without making sure to grab two strips of colored paper from Yachi—one dyed a brilliant scarlet, the other a light purple color. 

"Hey, Kageyama, make sure to write your wish down," Hinata burst out gaily, his fingers digging into the setter's arm, and when Kageyama made as if to shrug him off violently like he always did, he just held on tighter, and laughed freely. "So grumpy." 

"Actually, I think _you_ are way too happy about this," Kageyama returned. "What's the big deal about tanabata?" 

"Heartless Kageyama-kun. We have to celebrate Orihime and Hikoboshi's only meeting of the year. It must be tough to only be allowed one evening a year to see each other." 

"—If Orihime were any smarter, she would probably hurry up and move out of her father's house to live with Hikoboshi. She's waaay past the age of consent by now." 

Hinata laughed easily at Kageyama's blunt rebuttal of the famous fairy tale. 

"It's not that easy sometimes, you idiot!" he scolded, and before Kageyama had a chance to retort, he had already given the setter an affectionate shove on the shoulder and tore up ahead into the gym. 

Practice went well; or at least, it proceeded like it usually did—Kageyama, who had made it his habit to stoutly put on his "demon vice-captain" face whenever within the confines of the gym, did not hesitate in shredding the composure of the poor first-year wing spikers into bits with his constant scolding. Hinata, who, like the more senior spikers, was in the care of their second-year setter for the time being, had to regularly call out things like—

"Oi, Kageyama, tone it down a little or you'll be forced to spend half the time dealing with their nervous breakdowns," or, "Kageyama-kun—your face is a little too scary…" 

After a few more instances of this, Captain Yamaguchi had to personally walk in and talk some sense into Kageyama before the setter actually tried to keep his calm. Hinata smiled dryly at this, but knowing the cause of Kageyama's antsiness these days only served to remind him how the upcoming spring tournament was their very last chance to finally make a name for themselves. 

Practice broke up shortly after nightfall, the dejected squeaking of shoes against floor sounding like the resignation of so many mice. Kageyama and Hinata wearily volunteered to clean up, with the latter firmly reminding all of the others to hang their tanzaku back in the clubroom. 

He grabbed three volleyballs at a time and dumped them in the hammock, with Kageyama steadily running his mop over the court area. When they finally finished disassembling the antenna and the padding that covered the net poles, Kageyama switched all of the lights off and gestured to Hinata, who was still absently staring at the volleyball net in the center, now sagging in the middle. 

"What are you thinking of?" Kageyama muttered as they locked the door and went back to the clubroom, the silence of the evening only broken by the singing of crickets. 

"Nothing," Hinata replied. 

"Liar." 

Hinata grinned. 

"Fine. I'm thinking about my wish," he amended. 

Kageyama raised an eyebrow. "You were this excited over making everyone write their wishes, and now you're telling me you still haven't come up with one?" 

"It's not like that!" A breathless laugh. "It's actually quite the opposite, really. I mean, I only get one tanzaku, so…" Hinata fished the slightly crumpled red paper from his pocket, and carefully straightened it out. "I have to choose carefully. Make sure that it's a wish that Orihime and Hikoboshi would be interested to grant." 

"Hm. I see." Kageyama stared off into the direction of the distant mountains bordering Karasuno district. "A wish that they'll be sure to grant, huh." 

"What about you, Kageyama? Have you already thought of yours already?" 

"Yeah, actually." A slight smirk. "Guess I beat you to it this time, too." 

"Kageyama, you bastard…" 

They reached the clubroom peacefully, and to their surprise, the lights had all been turned off already; everyone had probably gone home already. "Weird," Hinata mumbled, stung at the thought that none of his juniors hung around to bid them goodbye. "Usually, those guys move reaaaally slowly after practice." 

"Hm. I guess they do move quickly once in a while." In direct contrast to Hinata's expression, Kageyama seemed happier—if this was due to the irrefutable evidence that his underclassmen _can_ actually conform to discipline once in a while, or if this was due to another reason entirely, Hinata wasn't sure. "The light, the light—" 

"Wait. Don't turn it on." 

"Huh? What, are you expecting us to change in the dark?" 

"It's not entirely dark," Hinata said, and marching to the window (where the bamboo still stood proudly by, colored strips of paper fluttering from its branches), he looked up to the silvery light that was filtering down into the deserted clubroom. "Look, Kageyama. It's Orihime and Hikoboshi, and the river." 

Kageyama sighed and obligingly joined Hinata by the window, where they stared up at the moonless sky. 

It was a perfect night to stargaze; without the moon, Orihime and Hikoboshi stood out in their faint glow, the river of starlight running between them in full force. "There go the magpies that will bring Orihime to her husband," Hinata murmured, and he reached with a pointer finger and made as if to touch every single star that connected the lovers, ever so gently. 

"Your wish, idiot," Kageyama reminded him. 

"Oh, right! Okay. I got it." With a sheepish expression, Hinata took a pen from his bag and hastily scribbled down a single word on it. Finished, he rejoined Kageyama to once again feast his eyes on the beautiful evening sky that stretched endlessly before them, even past the mountains— past the oceans— maybe to the other side of the world— 

"What have you wished for, Kageyama?" 

In the silvery semi-darkness of the clubroom, Kageyama took his gaze away from the star-lovers in the sky, and stared straight at Hinata, who was still lost in the magic of the night. 

Like this, Kageyama secretly thought, Hinata looked nothing short of angelic. 

"Kageyama?" 

And Hinata was turning his head to face him, and Kageyama thought he could see a sliver of a tear run down a round cheek and drip off his chin, and he had to stifle a groan, because why was this goddamn idiot Hinata so _impossibly_ _radiant_ , even among the presence of billions and billions of stars—? 

But then again, Kageyama supposed, the sun _was_ the brightest star of them all. 

"I wished… for…" 

Then, his hand somehow was already on Hinata's flaming cheek, and the round eyes looking back at him were both hopeful _and_ afraid— 

Kageyama ducked his head, and lightly, lightly—as if afraid to scare the other away—

He closed the distance, and touched his lips to Hinata's dry ones. 

One beat. 

Two beats. 

—Then, three. 

The kiss was quick, but it felt like a lifetime; in the next moment, Kageyama had already drawn away, and Hinata was left to stare after him, his face bright red, his fingers absentmindedly caressing the place on his mouth where Kageyama had kissed him, over and over, until the latter was sure that those trembling lips had gone numb from the fuss. 

"K, Kageyama, you—" 

"Fine. You don't have to let me down gently." Kageyama was blushing and scowling horribly at his feet, his hands fisting in his shirt. "I… I can take it—" 

"—You idiot." 

" _Idiot?!_ Wha—"

"You big idiot." Hinata was puffing his cheeks in anger. "—Don't say stuff like that when you look like you're about to _cry_!" 

And then Hinata was already leaping on him, and his thin arms were suddenly around Kageyama's neck, and they remained like that, with Hinata hanging awkwardly on Kageyama, until the latter realized that he can finally move his arms to return the gesture with a crushing embrace that left Hinata breathless and murmuring soft words into his ear, gentle words, and Kageyama hung on for dear life to the smaller body pressed against him, because kindness at this stage was cruel. Hinata's kindness was cruel. 

—They were near their last. 

"Kageyama?" 

"Mm." 

"Tell me. Are you crying?" 

"…Not anymore." 

And it was true, he thought—his eyes were indeed quite dry. 

Someday he would cry because Hinata wouldn't be by his side, of course, but not now. Not anytime soon. One more summer. One more fall. One more winter, with Hinata. With this team, clumsy as of yet, but promising. 

Oh so promising. 

One more summer. 

One more fall. 

One more winter. 

Then, the future awaits. For both of them. 

They fell apart on the floor, overburdened by starlight and gravity, and it was with a steady hand that Hinata held up the red tanzaku in his hand, now thoroughly battered, and said, smiling, "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." 

"—Deal." 

Kageyama petulantly scrubbed his face with a sleeve, and handed over his purple tanzaku in exchange for the red one. 

They read each other's wishes in silence, with Hinata sniffling a little as he did so, and Kageyama was about to glance up and see if the other had caught a cold when Hinata started laughing, an incredulous smile spreading on his face. 

"I can't believe it." Hinata was still breathless with laughter. "We wished for the same damn thing." 

"I didn't write what you wrote. What are you talking about?" 

"It's the same thing, right?" And Hinata brandished the purple tanzaku at him, the single word on it, spelled in English letters, standing out even in the gloom. 

"No, it's not. You wrote—" 

"Brazil." 

"That. And I wrote—" 

"Stupid, the next Olympics is in Rio. Which is also in _Brazil_ , you dumb Kageyama idiot." 

"—I'm kind of shocked that _you_ get to gloat to me about geography…" 

"I had to research tons about the place! Besides, when you think of Brazil, you think of volleyball too—" 

"Shut up. Dumbass." 

"You can't call me dumbass anymore! _You—_ " 

"I think that's enough peeking, huh?"

Tsukishima's whisper was hoarse after a long time of disuse, and silently, the three mischief makers listening just beyond the slightly-opened door closed it shut, muffling the arguing voices within the room. 

"I… I can't believe we just saw that," Yamaguchi was saying, red in the face. "I mean…" 

"I still can't tell if they had been dating for ages, or if that was the first time," Yachi was mumbling dejectedly. 

"Yeah, but remember Kageyama saying something about letting him down gently or something—so maybe—" 

"Nope. Not conclusive enough. Besides, the way they were so calm afterwards—they've probably kissed a ton of times already, right?" 

"Hinata looked like he was clubbed over on the head when Kageyama did it, though—" 

"I bet he looks like that every time they kiss, though. Kageyama seems like someone who just surprises his partner with weirdly-timed lovey-dovey stuff—" 

"Oi. Bastards." 

"E—eek!" Yachi had yelped, because the door suddenly swung open, and there was Kageyama and a furiously blushing Hinata right behind him, both now changed into fresh clothes. 

"I thought something was strange about the clubroom." Kageyama looked like he was about to burst a vein. "Was it your doing, Tsukishima, you jerk?" 

"What are you going to do about it?" Tsukishima glared back, drawing to his full height, but Yamaguchi and Hinata were quick to intervene. 

"L, Let's forget all about this, okay?" Yachi was stammering. "Yeah, let's do that…" 

"I'll make you pay tomorrow, asshole," Kageyama was still snarling, a serve which Tsukishima snidely returned with a—

"Bring it on, Your Majesty. I have _pictures_ of you sucking face with the shrimp." 

"Wh—" 

"Wh—" 

"Eek!" 

* * *

—In retrospect, however, aside from the scuffle that ensued among the third-years that evening, the Karasuno Volleyball Club's modest celebration of tanabata had gone well. 

The red and purple tanzaku tied at the very top of the bamboo (Kageyama's doing) fluttered prettily at every sigh of the wind— 

_Brazil. —Hinata Shouyou._

_Olympics. —Kageyama Tobio._

—Hopefully,

Hopefully,

Two wishes that Orihime and Hikoboshi were inclined to grant. 

**Author's Note:**

> As an acronym, the title
> 
> Keep  
> It  
> Short and  
> Simple
> 
> also spells out KISS. 
> 
> (Just a little joke.) 
> 
> Happy KageHina week! :)


End file.
